This Epic Museum In Wyoming Feels Like A Real-Life Jurassic Park
If you’re the adventuresome type who would jump at the chance to take a tour of Jurassic Park, Wyoming has the next best thing. When nature began revealing the treasure-trove of dinosaur bones hidden in the mountains near Thermopolis, the logical thing to do was to reassemble the skeletons and build a museum around them. With hundreds of displays and more than 30 mounted skeletons of actual dinosaurs, the Wyoming Dinosaur Center is as close to an amusement park filled with prehistoric creatures as you can get.
The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is located at 110 Carter Ranch Road in Thermopolis.
The city is already well-known for the natural hot springs running through the area, but it came as a delightful surprise when, in 1993, the bones of creatures from the Jurassic Period were found literally sticking out of the mountainsides.
That discovery led to the unearthing of more dinosaur bones than researchers had ever hoped to find in one spot and, eventually, the Wyoming Dinosaur Center was constructed as a place for further research and to display the findings.
The center is more than just a museum. It also houses a world-class laboratory, and there's a gift shop where you can purchase a memento of your visit.
It's awesome and a little mind-blowing to walk through the museum part of the center and try to comprehend that the remains of the creatures displayed there were living, breathing, and roaming the land (and sea) at one time.
Plus, the Wyoming Dinosaur Center is the only place outside of Europe where you can view an Archaeopteryx, an important fossil that many believe is the missing link between dinosaurs and birds.
The program runs 7 days a week May through September and gives anyone who is interested a hands-on experience digging in a real-life bone bed. Over 10,000 bones have been found by visitors and staff at the center.
Here’s a quick peek at just part of the adventure to be had at the museum:
Have you visited the Wyoming Dinosaur Center? What was your favorite part about the trip?
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